Resignation in the middle of a Termination

[Conner Lantz]

#80347

Good morning,
We were in the middle of issuing a termination notice to an employee (after previous written warnings and suspension, following company procedure), when the employee asks to resign. We have a termination notice that employee refused to sign as he would rather resign that be terminated. Would we be able to accept his resignation or just take it as a reaction to the termination?

[Conner Lantz]

#80348

I see no reason why you couldn’t and shouldn’t accept his resignation–especially if it relieves you of responsibility to pay termination notice under the Labour Standards Act. But for that same reason, I’m also puzzled at why the employee is doing this. Why deliberately cheat yourself of termination notice? Is it just a matter of pride? Or do you suspect he has something else in mind. One possibility is preserving his right to sue for constructive dismissal. But he’d still have been able to sue for wrongful dismissal if you fired him. Feel free to contact me directly at glennd@bongarde.com if you want to further discuss.

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